Can Social Media Fast-Track Your Career in Mar/Comms?

Here’s a guy who started off no doubt spending his early days fetching coffee, picking up dry cleaning and organizing the social calendar for very, very busy execs. Eight years of sore feet and thankless hours, plus several years in the trenches as a top producer, and he’s gone from blazer to boardroom.

It’s safe to say his days of Ramen are over.

The industry-wide clamour for digital media has made those with event a glint of aptitude coveted soothsayers. One could even argue that social media is the easiest way to fast-track your career in Mar/Comms. Before you start signing up for an online course, understand that just like any other specialty area, you still need years of experience to do it WELL.

Digital media prowess isn’t born overnight. It takes years to learn and master only to have a new app, gadget or regulation reform turn the industry on its head. You have to be ready for that. You have to be ready for a demanding, heavy workload (because, let’s face it, we are still few in numbers).

For those of you who work with digital media mavens, consider grabbing them a free coffee, cookie or just saying thanks. It’s no surprise that you’ll often find a very passionate, creative soul behind your average digital media professional who spends many off-hours trolling the feeds, spends their own cash for the latest gadgets and hours of patience teaching colleagues how to speak the “language.” Nobody asks them to do it, but for many of us, it’s an investment and one we bring into your brainstorm last-minute amazing strategy session.

So props to Ryan, who I don’t know, but share a kinship love for digital media. And props to NBC for recognizing the talent among it’s own hallways and giving a guy a chance.